


You Do Not Know Whether You Live In Autumn Or Whether It Lives In You.

by GirlWithTheCinderblockGarden



Series: Redamancy [4]
Category: Inception (2010), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Dom is a good friend, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, No Beta, Not Beta Read, Platonic Cuddling, birthdays but make it sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlWithTheCinderblockGarden/pseuds/GirlWithTheCinderblockGarden
Summary: Birthdays were never a cheery occasion on the Hargreeves household. Five years later, Ariadne seems resolute in keeping traditions. Dom comes to the rescue.
Relationships: Ariadne & Dom Cobb
Series: Redamancy [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927780
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	You Do Not Know Whether You Live In Autumn Or Whether It Lives In You.

**Author's Note:**

> Yaay for the Cobb & Ari chapter! This one was actually the first one I came up with, but I had a hard time doing justice on paper to what my imagination had created, so I had a hard time pleasing my inner perfectionist.
> 
> (The Quote from the title is from the book 'In The Presence Of Absence" by Mahmoud Darwish and translated by Sinan Antoon, if anyone's interested).

_I am larger, better than I thought,_

_I did not know I held such goodness._

_-Excerpt From **Song Of The Open Road** , By Walt Whitman. _

* * *

_October 12, 2012_

Dominic Cobb, despite what anyone might think, is a family man. He loves his children, squabbles with his in-laws, and tolerates the shenanigans of his extended family like any other married- or widowed- man; though he’ll never tell most of them he loves them out loud, as to not inflate _some_ egos.

Today though, Dominic worries about one member of his family in particular.

At ten thirty in the morning, Ariadne hasn’t left her bedroom since four Pm of the previous day, which is a strange phenomenon to observe given that the architect dislikes staying in bed until late, even with her night owl tendencies.

Dominic worries.

The man paces from one edge of the rather large kitchen to the other, wringing his hands and glancing in the direction of the stairs frequently, in hopes of spotting the small woman.

Ariadne doesn't come down, even after the fiftieth time Dom repeats his process.

Seeing as he’s the only person in the house, with the kids at school, Arthur and Eames away on a job, and Yusuf back with his family in Mombasa, Cobb decides to bite the proverbial bullet.

He climbs up the stairs but hesitates before Ari’s closed door, debating on knocking or just leaving her to whatever might be bothering her.

He allows his worry to win.

Dom knocks softly on the door, knowing that Ariadne, with her nearly inhuman ears, will hear it.

A shuffling can be heard from inside the room before something thumps softly against the other side of the door and it opens a few seconds later to reveal a messy haired, pale Ariadne looking tiredly up at Cobb.

He notes a comical, faint red circle starting to form on the girl’s forehead, as if she’d whacked her head. 

“Yes?” She asks with a strained smile.

“You…” Dom trails off, searching for words. “You haven't come down yet. That’s not like you.” He says, not voicing his question but knowing that Ariadne will hear it. He feels awkward being the grown up in their relationship, even if, realistically, he’s the one who’s older.

Ariadne’s shoulders drop with a tremble as she sighs, moving her hands nervously while she considers her answer. “Yes- I… no, not really. I’ve got a lot going in up here.” She points to her head with a low chuckle.

“Do you need anything? Something I can do to help?”

Ariadne shakes her head no before hesitating, one of her hands suddenly latching onto Dom’s shirt sleeve. “Actually… Do you think you could lay down with me? Just for a little bit?” She asks haltingly, then rushes to add “It’s- it’s okay if you don't want to…”

Cobb freezes for a second, not quite believing that Ariadne would ask this, given that the small woman still hesitates to bring herself closer to everyone but the children, even after two years of knowing them, as if afraid of rejection.

Dom shakes himself out of his shock before Ariadne can come to any hasty conclusions. “Of course.” He answers, hastily stepping into the dark room before she can even move aside.

Ariadne lies back down on her side, her back to Cobb and the door in clear invitation.

He lies down behind her, bringing his arms around Ari’s middle and slotting his body to hers.

Ariadne sighs and her body relaxes.

“It’s my birthday today.” She informs, talking more to the window than him.

Cobb knows. He also knows that Ariadne has taken special care, in the last three years, to always be away on a job during this time of the year.

“Our birthday, actually; my siblings’ and mine. It was never much of a fanfare, especially with our dad being… how he was. Even on our birthdays, our routine was kind of… it was- actually, it didn't change much; maybe we’d get an extra hour for recreation, or our favorite meal, if Reginald was in a good mood. But at night, every year, my sibling would sneak out; have fun, you know? They rarely invited me; I got used to it. But still-” Ariadne sucks in a stuttered breath, her whole body shuddering with the strength of it. “I thought someone would have missed me, you know? I check the news every year… since 2009. Nothing ever comes up; no missing posters, no reports, no nothing. I wouldn't want anyone of them to find me… But stil... How can anyone ignore a person just going missing like that? Or did no one notice it at all? Was I that unimportant?” She asks, her voice small.

As a wave of protectiveness sweeps through him, Cobb tightens his hold on the tiny body lying next to him. He forgets how young she is sometimes, with how old her eyes and mind can be. “Of course not. You’re _so_ important. You know we’d do anything for you, you’re so precious to all of us and… anyone who can’t see how astonishing you are is just- they're blind, Ariadne.” He tells her, praying she’ll believe his words, hear the earnestness in his tone.

“Then why did no one _care_?”

“I couldn't tell you. Maybe they're all so… self centered they couldn't see four feet ahead of themselves. But Ari- Vanya, listen to me. You need to know that if something ever happened, we’d turn the whole world upside-down for you.” Cobb whispers, like a secret between both of them. “But for now… For now, you _have_ to let yourself hurt over it; you have to hurt and you have to cry, you can’t run away and distract yourself everytime something hurts. Even if you rarely think about it nowadays, I can see that it still affects you and you have to let it hurt. You couldn't have made them love you back; even if a part of you might always wish they did, even if you start to hate them.”

“When did you get so wise?” Ariadne asks quietly, voice wet but just a little playful.

“Lots of emotional growth. A girl you might know helped me a lot, taught me to be less inflexible and all that good stuff.”

“Is she smart, then?”

“I’d like to think i’m pretty smart; and she’s smarter than me, so…” Dom lets his voice trail off, let’s his playfulness become a comforting blanket to the tiny woman in his arms.

Ariadne gives out a teary chuckle as she turns around in Cobb’s arms, fitting her head under his chin and bringing her arms around his torso, pulling Cobb in closer to herself. 

“Thanks.” She sighs.

“Anytime, Ariadne. Anytime.” Cobb answers in an exhale, kissing the small woman’s head.

And if the pair falls asleep like that, Dom figures they all deserve to sleep in sometimes.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this Not-as-short addition to the Redamancy universe, I sure had fun writing it, even if it kicked my butt while i did it.  
> If you enjoyed this read, please, please leave a like and a comment, it really motivates writers and takes very little time from your day; it can be just a keysmash, i swear it makes us happy.


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